Iron and steel structure carrying railway or like track and track therefor



Dec. 28 1926. 1,612,471

R. SCHEIBE IRON AND STEEL STRUCTURE CARIQYING RAILWAY OR LIKE TRACK AND TRACK THEREFOR Filed March 2 L925 I I l mv mm IZ LMA Patented Dec. 28, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD SCHEIBE, OF KLOTZSCHE-KONIGSWALD, NEAR DRESDEN, GERMANY.

IRON AND STEEL STRUCTURE CARRYING RAILWAY OR LIKE TRACK AND TRACK THEREFOR.

Application filed March 2, 1925, Serial No. 12,759. and in Germany November 24, 1924.

When making calculations for iron or steel structures which have to carry a railway track an increased allowance must always be made on account of the percussive forces exerted by the rolling stock on the rails. This introduces an element of uncertainty into the whole calculation because the amount of these forces can only be ascertained experiment while the other quantities in the calculation can be directly determined.

Again, the parts of the structure undergo changes in shape at the places at which the forces of percussion and pressure exerted by the rolling-stock are applied, which changes are directly proportional to the size of the external force. If these forces were reduced .or eliminated the calculation would become more exact and a favourable influence also would be brought to bear on the size of the changes in shape of the various paits of the structure as well as on the life and preservation of the structure.

Now the object of the present invention is to enable the shock-absorbing properties of self-resilient sleepers, which are now wel known owing to the Scheibe sleeper, to be generally used to advantage on bridges and iron structures which carry a railway or like track. Full advantage of the elastic properties of such sleepers can only be taken if they are laid freely and not if they form, for example, a fixed part of the structure of an iron bridge.

According to the invention, in order to be able to lay the sleepers, as on the ordinary track, in ballast but limited in its extent, the sleepers are laid in boxes filled with ballast similarly as they are laid on the ordinary track, and the boxes are firmly fixed to the iron or steel structure. The invention is illustrated by way of example, in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic section through a railway track laid on a lattice-girder bridge, and

Fig. 2 shows a longitudinal view, partly in section, of one of the ballast-boxes.

Referring to the drawing, 1 is the latticegirder to which in the first place the ballastboxes 2 are rigidly secured, The hollow sleepers 3 are laid in the latter so that they rest on or are embedded in only the material which forms the ballast, for example sand,

or a viscous mixture of asphalt and sand,

and are also partially filled with the ballast, but only to such an extent that their elastic alterations in shape are not hindered or destroyed by the filling. The connection with the rails is made so that it is absolutely rigid. preferal'ily in accordance with the Letters Patent No. 1,515,367, issued to me on November 11, 1924, so that the applied forces are entirely dissipated in the sleeper, with out exerting any effect whatsoever on the connection. In this manner the bridge is relieved from the effects of percussion, just as the bottom of the sleeper is on the ordinary track, owing to the internal dissipation or consumption of the forces.

The ballast-boxes, in which the hollow sleepers can easily be fitted, are either laid at a distance apart in the same direction as the rails, or at right angles thereto as on the ordinary track, depending upon the form of the bridge, and after the sleepers have been laid in them, are closed with end-plates 5 (see Fig. 2) in order to prevent the sand, by which the pressure is taken, from escaping. The connection of the side and end plates of the box can best be made by means of a wedge connection 6, 7. The thickness of the plates of the ballast boxes need only be such that, in addition to its own weight, it can take the maximum axle-pressure.

I claim 2-- 1 A structure of the class described, including a supporting girder, a ballast container rigidly secured to said girder and containing a ballast material, a resilient sleeper in said container and embedded in and supported only by said material to form an elastic support, and a rail rigidly connected to said sleeper.

2. A structure in accordance with claim 1 in which the ballast container is provided with end plates removably secured thereto.

Dated this 11th day of February, 1925.

RICHARD SCHEIBE. 

